


When He Dreams

by This_Time_I_Wont_Regret_My_Username



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, no comfort, pre-Hogwarts AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 02:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13066986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_Time_I_Wont_Regret_My_Username/pseuds/This_Time_I_Wont_Regret_My_Username
Summary: Harry has never been loved by the Dursleys. One night, he has a dream of a woman with red hair and a man with glasses who both love him dearly. There are pictures on the walls of a family Harry never had, and his eyes water with his laughter and joy. When he wakes up, his sobs are muffled by his blankets in the darkness of his cupboard.





	When He Dreams

Harry yelped as Vernon shoved him roughly into his cupboard with a growl. He landed in a heap on his lumpy bed, the edge of his glasses hitting the shelf and digging into the ten-year-old's skin, pinching and stabbing and causing tears to well in his eyes. Harry's uncle slammed the door, catching Harry's toes in the process. Sharp, flaring pain shot through Harry's foot and up his leg as he cried out in pain.

"You'll quiet down if you know what's good for you, freak!" Vernon yelled and kicked Harry's foot out of the way so he could properly close the tiny door. Harry bit his lip to keep from whimpering in pain at the contact.

Harry heard the bolts on the door slam into place. Locked, as always. He ignored the dread and anxiety that pooled in his stomach at the thought. He always ignored it.

Everything went dark once Vernon closed the shutters on the door. Harry whimpered in fear. He didn't like not being able to see anything.  

He gingerly brought his foot up and poked at his toes, and tears spilled down his cheeks despite his attempts to stop them from coming. He hadn't cried from the pain since he was seven, but something definitely felt broken. He hadn't even done anything _so_ wrong this time, just complimented another boy for being very pretty, in his opinion. Well, Harry knew he'd never, ever make the same mistake again.

Why couldn't he just be normal? What was so wrong with him that his aunt and uncle couldn't love him, like they loved Dudley?

"Mum," Harry whispered, curling up on his blankets, taking care to avoid touching his foot. "Would you love me anyways?" he asked the empty air. The tears ran silently down his face, causing his hair to stick to his cheek. Harry closed his eyes and willed sleep to come. It always did, once the pain wasn't so noticeable.

* * *

_"Harry James Potter, what have I told you about riding your broom in the house?" A woman with red hair was screaming at Harry, her voice shrill with panic and worry, but also anger. Harry giggled despite himself and kept on running from her, said broom now clutched in one hand instead of between his thin legs._

_"I won't break anything, Mum! I promise!" Harry said. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the red-haired woman had stopped chasing after him. He grinned and looked forward, only to be caught up in two strong, hairy arms. He yelped in surprise._

_"Ah, got you!" the man_ _said loudly, hoisting Harry over his shoulder and swinging him around. The tiny broom Harry'd been playing with clattered to the ground, forgotten, as the man went on swinging Harry. Harry gasped and held onto the man's belt for dear life, his blood rushing to his head._

_"Dad! Dad, please!" Harry shrieked through his laughter. The world was upside down, pictures of his family hanging the wrong way. The dark-haired man with glasses; the redheaded woman with green eyes; a tiny baby with red hair and brown eyes; a chubby boy around Harry's age with sandy-brown hair who looked nervous, for some reason; a young redheaded girl who was wearing a sweater with the letter "G" on it, her arms wrapped around a shaggy black dog._

_Harry's eyes shined with the tears of his mirth_ _before his glasses slid off his face and clattered to the ground, only to be picked up by another man whose face was scarred and his hair graying despite his obvious young age. Harry shrieked again and giggled as the man holding him abruptly dropped him, but he didn't hurt himself as he landed. In fact, he bounced right off the floor and safely onto the couch._

_"That'll teach you to ride your broom inside, right, Harry?" the dark-haired man said, winking in Harry's direction. Harry nodded vigorously, his heart pounding in exhilaration and happiness, fighting to keep the smile off his face._

_The redheaded woman rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. The two men and Harry watched her go._

* * *

Harry's eyes opened slowly as the tears fell faster and thicker than before he'd fallen asleep. He hadn't even understood what had happened in the dream, and it made his heart ache. All he could think was that someone loved him, and that they weren't even real.

His anguish was muffled in his blankets, so Petunia and Vernon wouldn't hear him. Harry wished that the pain in his foot had prevented him from sleeping at all.

The dream was gone from his mind as quickly as it had come, as though it had never happened. And somewhere, perhaps closer than Harry would imagine, yet farther than he'd ever know, a young boy with green eyes and raven hair was falling asleep as his mother sang softly to him, his lack of a lightning scar the only thing that separated the two boys.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I had a while ago, and I wanted to write it down. In my head, there's an entire storyline and plot forming. If I ever actually write the story and post it, then this can be considered the prequel.  
> I am falling in love with this concept and I hope you guys like it too.


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